AI Tools · head to head
PromptLayer vs Helicone
PromptLayer
AI Tools
Collaboration platform for prompt management, evaluation, and observability
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Helicone
AI Tools
Open-source LLM observability and gateway platform for AI applications
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: PromptLayer the free plan is capped at only 2,500 requests per month, quite limited for active production use.; Helicone the free Hobby plan is capped at 10,000 requests per month, which teams with production traffic can exceed quickly.
- They diverge on capability: PromptLayer covers Visual prompt management, Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which PromptLayer and Helicone actually diverge.
| Attribute | PromptLayer | Helicone |
|---|
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (web, api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (AI Tools).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in PromptLayer
- Visual prompt management
- Agent observability
- Evaluations
- Version control
- Cost and latency monitoring
- Agent workflow tracing
Only in Helicone
- Request dashboard and tracking
- Sessions and segments
- Helicone Query Language (HQL)
- Prompt datasets and improvement
- Playground
- Rate limits and alerts
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
PromptLayer
- Versioning and deploying prompts without code redeploysnot Helicone
- Running evaluations with human review before production releasenot Helicone
- Tracing multi-step agent workflows for debuggingnot Helicone
- Monitoring LLM cost and latency by featurenot Helicone
Helicone
- Monitoring cost and latency of production LLM applicationsnot PromptLayer
- Debugging multi-step agent sessionsnot PromptLayer
- Managing and iterating on prompts across a teamnot PromptLayer
- Routing requests across multiple LLM providersnot PromptLayer
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
PromptLayer
- The free plan is capped at only 2,500 requests per month, quite limited for active production use.
- The Team plan jumps to $500/month, a large step up from the $49/month Pro plan.
- Overage transaction fees apply on top of subscription costs, which can make total spend less predictable.
- Enterprise-grade features like HIPAA BAAs and custom deployment require contacting sales.
Helicone
- The free Hobby plan is capped at 10,000 requests per month, which teams with production traffic can exceed quickly.
- Advanced compliance features like SOC 2 and HIPAA are only available starting at the $799/month Team plan.
- Usage beyond the free tier is billed on top of the base subscription, adding cost unpredictability at scale.
- On-premises deployment is restricted to the custom Enterprise tier.
Pricing, plan by plan
PromptLayer
Free- FreeFree
- 5 users
- 2,500 requests/month
- 1 workspace
- Pro$49/month
- Unlimited playgrounds and workspaces
- 150MB datasets
- Pay-as-you-go overage at $0.003/transaction
- Team$500/month
- 25 users
- 100k+ monthly requests
- Webhooks
- Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom limits
- Role-based access controls
- HIPAA with BAA
Helicone
Free- HobbyFree
- 10,000 free requests
- 1 GB storage
- 1 seat
- Pro$79/month
- 10K free requests included, usage-based beyond
- 7-day free trial
- Unlimited playgrounds and workspaces
- Team$799/month
- 5 organizations
- SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance
- Dedicated Slack channel access
- Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom MSAs and SAML SSO
- On-premises deployment
- Bulk cloud discounts
Which should you pick?
Choose PromptLayer if
- You need visual prompt management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want agent observability.
Choose Helicone if
- You need request dashboard and tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want sessions and segments.
Questions people ask
- Is PromptLayer or Helicone better?
- Neither clearly leads. PromptLayer starts at Free and Helicone at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, PromptLayer or Helicone?
- PromptLayer starts at Free and Helicone at Free.
- Does PromptLayer or Helicone run on more platforms?
- Both run on web, api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use PromptLayer for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is PromptLayer best used for?
- PromptLayer is most often used for versioning and deploying prompts without code redeploys, running evaluations with human review before production release, tracing multi-step agent workflows for debugging, monitoring llm cost and latency by feature. Of those, versioning and deploying prompts without code redeploys and running evaluations with human review before production release are not what Helicone is typically brought in for.
- What can PromptLayer do that Helicone cannot?
- PromptLayer covers Visual prompt management, Agent observability, Evaluations, Version control. Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking, Sessions and segments, Helicone Query Language (HQL), Prompt datasets and improvement.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
PromptLayer: What does PromptLayer cost?
PromptLayer has a free plan, a Pro plan at $49/month, a Team plan at $500/month, and custom Enterprise pricing, with additional usage billed per transaction beyond plan limits.
SourceHelicone: What does Helicone cost?
Helicone offers a free Hobby plan, a Pro plan at $79/month, a Team plan at $799/month, and custom Enterprise pricing, with usage-based charges applying beyond included request limits.
SourcePromptLayer: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?
The Free plan includes 5 users, 2,500 requests per month, 1 workspace, 250 monthly eval cell executions, and datasets up to 10MB.
SourceHelicone: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?
The free Hobby plan includes 10,000 requests per month, 1 GB of storage, 1 seat, and 1 organization, aimed at kickstarting AI projects.
SourcePromptLayer: How is usage metered beyond the plan limits?
Additional usage is charged per transaction for requests, agent runs, and evaluation cell runs, at $0.003/transaction on Pro and $0.002/transaction on Team.
SourceHelicone: Are there discounts available?
Helicone offers 50% off the first year for qualifying startups, discounts for non-profits, a $100 annual credit for open-source projects, and free access for students.
SourceRelated pages
More on PromptLayer
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